


Bloodstream

by bexcj



Category: Emmerdale, robron
Genre: Alternate Universe, Chronic Illness, Death, M/M, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 12:35:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5375405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bexcj/pseuds/bexcj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Alternate Universe</b> - In the village of Emmerdale, something isn't quite right. Everyone under the age of thirty is abnormally pale and each of them hold the same dark secret. Aaron Livesy moves into the village after being kicked out by his father, and he uncovers a number of truths about the villagers he's living with... as well as himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. China

Despite Aaron throwing a highly expensive china plate at his father’s head in a tantrum, Gordon didn’t seem to be changing his mind on the idea of sending his son to live with his mother, the woman Aaron hasn’t seen for as long as he can remember. Okay, so maybe he _did_ punch a wall and throw a few parties here and there when he was eighteen, causing the police to arrive at the house with a search warrant on suspicion of, well, suspicious behaviour. Okay, so maybe he _did_ try and sell his six year old half-sister to some strangers when he was twenty because he was sick of being the unwanted one in the family. Okay, so maybe Aaron _did_  tell his dad how much he hated him and wanted to leave three days ago during an argument, but come on, sending him to Emmerdale? With his estranged _mother_?

It feels a little over the top, in all honesty.

“I’m twenty-three, you can’t just send me away like a little kid!” He'd screamed, in fact resembling a little kid whilst face to face with his father, who didn’t seem to be acknowledging his presence at all, even with the one-sided shouting match taking place.

When he finally did acknowledge it, he said, “Alright then. Move out, buy a place of your own. You’re old enough.”

Aaron huffed, folding his arms. “You know I don’t have the money.”

“I rest my case. And you’re not staying here. She’ll take you in.”

“She didn’t want me for the first twenty-odd years, what makes you think she will now?”

His dad sighed, turning off the television he was watching and focusing his full attention to his son (finally). “Because I know for a fact that she will. I want you gone by the end of the week Aaron, I’m not messing around.”

Contrary to Aaron’s belief, Gordon really wasn’t messing around.

So here Aaron is, standing next to a dingy pub apparently belonging to his biological mother, currently wishing he’d never thrown that china plate. He takes a deep breath because he’s admittedly nervous to meet Chas for the first time. He doesn’t really know much about her, only that she abandoned him and Gordon when he was three for no reason and didn’t come back to visit, not once, and that’s all Aaron wanted to hear before dismissing her existence completely. He could happily go his whole life without seeing her, but he doesn’t really have a choice right now.

He opens the door and recognises her straight away from the pictures he’d seen, behind the bar and pouring a pint for an elderly man. She looks up when she hears the door closing, and her face morphs into an expression resembling an array of positive emotions when she sees him standing there. She drops the glass she was pouring (earning a rather dirty look from the old man), running out from behind the bar and stopping a metre away from him.

“Is it really you?” She whispers, her hands clasped to her chin as her eyes take in the sight of her little boy for the first time in forever. All grown up. “My baby?”

“You actually bothered to find out what I look like, then.” He mutters the words coldly, but part of him rejects his own tone because she _is_ his mother. She looks so happy to see him and he didn’t expect to be happy to see her, but he is.

She frowns at the comment but dismisses it straight away, pulling him by the shoulder into a hug and squeezing him until it grows difficult to breathe. As if she’s trying to make up for all the hugs she was never there to give him, all at once. He wraps one arm around her, deeming her too much of a stranger to have the right to receive a full hug. One day, but not yet.

When he pulls away, she grabs his bags and whisks herself away behind the bar, chattering on about how she’s _made his room up_ and she’s _so excited for him to move in._ He swallows, hesitantly following.

He’s never really had this, someone making a fuss of him or giving him affection or attention. It’s not like Gordon gave it out, considering he didn’t even want Aaron anyway but was stuck with him once Chas disappeared. It was worse when the new baby girl came along, and Aaron was forced to watch his father pour every ounce of love into his new, wanted child. The love that Aaron should’ve been given, but wasn’t.

But now he’s here, and Chas is clinging onto his arms whilst staring at him intensely, whining about how she _knows the room isn’t amazing but hopefully it’s good enough_ , and she’s _so glad he agreed to stay with her_. He wants to say, ‘well it’s kind of my last resort and I’d kind of rather stay on the streets’, but he doesn’t want to ruin her happiness so he keeps his lips tightly shut.

After making himself as attached to the place as he’s comfortable with, Aaron becomes acquainted with Diane, the tiny woman who apparently owns the other half of the pub, according to his mother. Diane presents a glow around her. She's accompanied by warmth wherever she wanders and spreads it to those nearby. Aaron immediately feels complacent whilst talking to her, deciding that she’ll make it a little more bearable when he’s feeling at his worst about the whole thing.

Diane also has a step-daughter, Victoria, who walks into the room and freezes when she notices Aaron sitting in her seat at the table. She stares at him like he’s committed murder, and the first thought which jokingly pops into his mind is, ‘how does she know?’

All jokes aside, she seems genuinely disturbed by his presence and it’s a little off-putting as he eats his dinner, but he gets up and introduces himself nonetheless. “Alright? I’m Aaron. You are?”

“Uh, Victoria. Vic.” She says quickly before stalking out of the room again. Aaron notices she’s abnormally pale, but maybe that’s due to the lack of sunlight in this eerie village.

Oh, and that’s the other thing about this place. It’s cold all the time, but not like the north of England usually is. It’s winter all year round in Emmerdale, temperatures never reaching above five degrees Celsius, not since 1991 anyway.

Aaron’s suddenly grateful for his outstanding collection of hoodies and jumpers.

One day when he’s eating breakfast, basking in his own company and savouring the extra layer of warmth from his cup of tea, Victoria walks into the lounge and doesn’t freeze into place. Instead, she sits on the chair opposite him, staring at him sweetly and half-resembling a regular human being. “I was wondering if you wanted to go to the park with me.”

A brow can’t help but furrow at the odd offer. “I was thirteen ten years ago, mate.”

She just shrugs in reply, so he thinks of a different witty response to throw out. “I’m flattered, but I’m gay, so…”

“I have a boyfriend.” Oh. That didn’t seem to work, either. She’s clearly growing bored by the time Aaron thinks of a third one.

“Do you wanna come or not? The lake’s frozen over. It’s fun to slide around on the ice, no matter what age you are. Live a little.”

He sighs in defeat, convincing himself he needs to make one friend, even if it is an oddball. “Alright, why not? Come on then.”

*

Even wrapped in multiple knitted layers, he’s still chilled to the bone.

Victoria on the other hand, isn’t actually wearing that much but seems to be content with the temperature. He assumes she’s just used to it, having lived in this epitome of a fridge for the duration of her lifetime. She runs onto the ice, her feet immediately giving way slightly, causing her to slide along. She inhales sharply, shakily laughing at the adrenaline rush from almost falling over.

She turns to Aaron, a sudden child-like excitement spreading over her in the form of a large grin. “Come on.”

He obeys, hesitantly dropping one foot onto the ice, followed by the other, until he’s sliding across the area of land and catching up with her. They slide together, nudging each other in an attempt to push one of them to the floor, constantly laughing as they do so. Aaron feels like a little boy again, playing in the snow with his friends like he used to when he enjoyed his life, before it became unbearable to be at home with Gordon. The waste of space of a father.

Yeah, he is bitter.

Vic turns away from him and so he grabs her on the waist by surprise to pull her onto the floor, which all of a sudden sends her into a shock, frozen as the ice beneath her feet. Aaron blinks at her confusedly, carefully stepping towards her in order to inspect what could be wrong, his gloved hands still on her body. “You alright, Vic?” He whispers, staring into her dilated pupils.

In great contrast to her eerie silence, she lets out a piercing, glass-shattering scream which stings at Aaron’s cochleae. His knees hit the ice as he falls, the palms of his gloves covering his ears to block as much of the sound as he can. She doesn’t stop until around thirty seconds later, but the prolonged ringing in Aaron’s ears means he can’t get up straight away once she’s silent again.

Footsteps which aren’t hers make their way onto the ice, and suddenly Aaron’s pulled to his feet by two strong arms which drag him off the frozen lake and onto the grass where he’s thrown back down. He looks up to see two more young people. A girl with blonde, wavy hair down to her breast and piercing blue eyes, though she’s using them to give Aaron an extremely cold glare right now. Next to her, a boy. His features are quite similar to Aaron’s, except his are a little darker and he doesn’t pull off stubble as well.

“Who are you? What do you want?” The boy growls, lunging forward straight away until the blonde pulls him back forcefully. She’s stronger than she looks, that’s for sure. “Answer his question.” She follows with.

Aaron blinks. “Aaron Livesy…”

“There’s no one with your surname around here so what are you here for?” The boy continues to press, his right arm tapping on the side of his jeans as he impatiently awaits a response. Aaron really doesn’t need this shit, not now. Not when he doesn’t want to be here in the first place.

“Guess you could call me a Dingle then, since my mum’s one,” He spits, scrunching his nose up as he remembers her. He almost wants to laugh because she doesn’t really deserve the title. No one who leaves their kid at the age of three deserves the title of mother. Not really.

The pair’s eyebrows simultaneously raise at the mention of the second surname and they immediately soften, holding their hands out in an offer to pull Aaron back to his feet, though he refuses the offer. Once he’s up he shuffles away from them, brushing the frosty grass off his trousers with his gloves and scowling. “What was all that about?”

“Sorry mate…” The boy says awkwardly, turning to the blonde with an embarrassed expression. “Just, when you hear your girlfriend screaming you don’t exactly think the best of it. No hard feelings?”

“Girlfriend?” Aaron trails off, his gaze returning to the frozen lake where Victoria’s still standing, shaking visibly even from this far away, her eyes wide. “Vic?”

The boy turns to her, waving his hand in order to gesture for her to come over and join them. She does so hesitantly, moving across the lake with careful steps so as not to slip before reaching the grass and running over to her boyfriend, falling into his arms with her breaths quick and sharp. He hushes her, stroking her hair like he’s comforting her from a trauma, though nothing even happened.

“Are you alright?” Aaron tries, but Victoria only cowers away further at the sound of his voice. Adam turns her away towards the blonde, who takes her hand and leads her away from the scene.

Aaron’s beyond confused right now.

“She’ll be alright in a minute, just something she’s going through right now. A little bit of stress, she’ll be back to normal soon as. I’m Adam, by the way.” He offers his hand for Aaron to shake, which he does so, albeit reluctantly, and as soon as their hands touch he receives a similar look from Adam, as if he’s given the man an electric shock. If the first few people he meets in this place acts like this towards him suddenly for no reason, who else should he be expected to meet?

Speaking of meet, the next people Aaron becomes acquainted with are his biological family and thankfully, they seem normal enough. His uncle, Cain, is tough and proud, and Aaron can definitely see the resemblance between the two of them. His wife Moira is sweet too, with an amusing Scottish accent to go with it. Debbie, Belle, Sam, Charity, they all seem friendly enough as well as Lisa. There’s one though, who doesn’t see all too pleased about his arrival.

Zak freezes into place when he arrives home and notices Aaron on the sofa. The entire family turn silent in a switch, watching him closely as if they're awaiting a reaction. He just stares at Aaron, who stares back at him uncomfortably. What is it with people in this village and looking at him like he’s an alien?

He seems to come out of his trance after a few moments. “You’re Chas’ boy. S'that right, son?”

Aaron nods. “Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you.”

An expression on the old man’s face takes Aaron aback for a second. It’s a knowing look, almost expectant. Like Aaron’s been awaited in the village. It’s unnerving and he has to look away, feeling emotionally drained by the people and events he’s seen in his first couple of days of being here. “Nice to meet you too, lad. Welcome to the Dingles.”

One other curious human Aaron sets his eyes on whilst becoming introduced to his new home is another offspring of Diane’s. He’s eating with her, Chas and Vic (who’s calmed towards him again), mindlessly chatting about things that happened back home and how much he despises Gordon, when the door of the lounge creeps open and a face peeks round the side.

“Come in, pet.” Diane calls without looking to the door. As if she knows who it is, like she was expecting them. “Do you want some tea?”

The unknown person walks in so Aaron can get a full view, and when he gets a look at who it is…

He can feel all his blood rush to a particular area in his body. An area within the southern regions of his torso.

The man’s unattractively pale, similar to his sister, but that’s the only thing unattractive about him. Blonde hair, whitening in some areas but not in patches, just singular hairs here and there, highlighting his fairness. His eyes are a shade of blue as bright as the other girl from the lake. He looks as if he should be her sibling instead of Vic’s. His jawline is heavily prominent and his lips are light and plump, every little detail showing perfection.

Each aspect of the man’s body intrigues Aaron ten times over, and he’s unaware of his obvious staring until Chas awkwardly creates an introduction, snapping him back into the room. “Robert, this is my son, Aaron. Aaron, Robert. Vic’s brother.”

The beautiful icy man turns his gaze to Aaron, but similar to his sister and Zak, his eyes are wide and alert, his body tense at the sight of Aaron sitting there. Unlike the others though, he doesn’t snap out of it and continue with his doings after a few moments.

He runs away.


	2. Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron doesn't listen to Robert Sugden's warning, but what consequences does it bring?

“Right, that’s it.” Chas announces loudly, tapping at Aaron’s feet which are currently resting on the arm of the sofa whilst he’s napping, despite the fact it’s 11 o clock and he roused from his bed only twenty minutes earlier due to her nagging him. It seems to be a regular occurrence in this household, being moaned at for every little thing he does. He groans at the disruption, turning over onto his front and covering his ears.

She continues, taking no notice of his protests. “You need a job.”

“No thanks.” He mutters plainly, so she slaps him on the back and forces his body upwards, giving him no choice but to awaken.

“Tough. our Debs owns the garage down the road and I’ve managed to get you one in there.” She pauses to glance at the watch on her right wrist, suddenly bursting into an excited face when she reads the time. “Oh look!” She exclaims. “You start in 5.”

Aaron groans again, rubbing his eyes with his wrists and muttering, “That better be 5 hours.”

“Minutes.” She corrects him, biting her lip to stifle her laughter at his fallen face, quickly escaping the room to avoid being killed for this. “Have fun!”

*  
The first thing to catch Aaron’s attention when he reaches the garage is a new pale man standing there, sipping a cup of coffee and almost spitting it back out when he notices the young man approaching. Luckily, he doesn’t seem to enter the usual brief trance like the others insist on doing, instead he gives him a nod in greeting almost immediately.

Finally, someone normal.

“Alright? Name’s Ross. You need showing around here like a little baby or can you get on?”

Aaron scoffs. Okay, normal, but annoying nevertheless. “Yeah, I think I’ll manage, ta.”

After chatting with Ross for a couple of hours, working on a few cars with him and generally getting on with the man, Aaron decides he’s an ideal candidate to interrogate about the village and it’s suspicious features. He starts with, “Why are some people around here so white then?”

“You what?” Ross asks from underneath the car he’s servicing. Aaron elaborates. “Well, Vic and Adam are proper pale and so are you…why’s that? You all ill or something?”

The question earns an offended look from Ross, only causing Aaron’s curiosity to grow. “Well it’s the weather, innit. Hard to get a tan when it’s raining all the time.”

“Yeah, but not everyone’s that pasty. Look at Diane and me mum. It’s like only the young'uns have stuff wrong with them.” Aaron observes, his brows knitted.

Ross suddenly snaps. “What’s ‘stuff wrong with 'em’ meant to mean?”

Aaron swallows. “Uh…well everyone’s just acting a bit off with me, that’s all.” He tries, but he seems to have struck something in the older man which means he’s on edge for the next few hours of Aaron’s shift. It’s like everyone in this village is constantly in a negative mood…like a continual winter blues surrounding the entirety of the young population of Emmerdale. Odd.

Ross does cool off after a while though. “So,” He begins, starting up their first conversation since he’d snapped. “Who’s your family around here, then?”

“Well, Chas is me mum…there’s Cain and Moira.”

“Moira?” Ross repeats suddenly, turning around from the table of tools he was organising and facing Aaron, intrigued. “How’s Moira related?”

“Well she’s Cain’s wife ain’t she…and Cain’s my uncle, so -”

“No way!” He exclaims, breaking into a grin. “She’s my aunt as well. Well…ex-aunt really. Her ex-husband was my uncle.”

Aaron nods in understanding, slightly put off by the fact everyone in this village is not only weird, but also related to each other in a huge, inbred family circle.

“Guess that makes us kind of related then, eh?” Not really. “You should meet my brothers. We’re going to the pub once I finish up here. Since you live there you might as well join us.”

Aaron agrees straight away, eager to make as many friends as he can in the village. Who knows, maybe the Barton’s are the alright ones, considering Adam’s one and he’s been alright, constantly talking to Aaron whenever he’s seen him and generally acting like a mate, making him feel at home.

Okay, so the Barton’s _are_ a little odd, but no more odd than any other odd family and not odd in the Victoria way. The two brothers are pale too, but they’re not bad to talk with. Finn’s gay as well, but unfortunately not Aaron’s type, especially with those glasses. They chat for a while, downing pints and getting to know each other until Aaron feels acquainted enough to refer to them as friends. He’s doing well here, he has about five friends now.

As Pete’s in the middle of telling a story about their father at Butler’s farm, the Bartons suddenly fall silent and their attention turns to someone who’s walking through the door of the pub. Aaron knits a brow, turning in his seat to see what the fuss is about.

Then he understands. It’s the attractive blond man, walking up to the bar. Aaron subconsciously flutters his eyelashes, contemplating whether or not to try and make conversation with him. When Chas approaches him and they begin to talk, Aaron takes that as his opportunity.

He heads up to the bar and grabs a glass, pouring himself a beer whilst listening to their conversation.

“She hasn’t been in for a bit. Didn’t she tell you she was going somewhere?” Chas asks, staring concernedly at the man. Robert. Aaron remembers his name from the other day and decides he should begin referring to him as that in his head, rather than 'fit blond bloke’…

Robert shakes his head, an anxious expression spreading across his face. “I haven’t spoken to her since yesterday. Do you think she’s alright?”

“What’s up?” Aaron asks, staring at the blond whilst intruding in their discussion. Robert stares back at him with a straight face, ignoring the question completely. Chas replies for him. “Have you seen Victoria today, love?”

Aaron nods. “She said she was going to Adam’s. He was gonna cook her dinner or something.”

Robert audibly sighs in relief, running a hand through his exquisite locks. Though his scowl doesn’t disappear so Aaron decides to comment.

“Chill out mate. She’s alright, nothing would happen to her around here, would it?”

The older man locks eyes with him then. “How long have you been here?”

“Uh, three days.”

“Exactly.” Robert snaps. “You’ve been here three days, meaning you know nothing about my family or this place in general. You stay away from Vic from now on or I’ll make sure you do, are we clear?”

Aaron blinks, taken aback by the sudden outburst. “We both live here mate, that might be a bit hard.”

“I’m serious.“

"Alright Robert, that’s enough.” Chas breaks it up with a calm tone, visibly softening him. Aaron’s still riled though, giving the blond the dirtiest look he can muster before he disappears.

Once he’s gone, Aaron lets out the breath he’d been holding since their conversation started. “He’s up himself, ain’t he?”

Chas turns to him, frowning. “Leave him love, he’s been through enough. Just keep your distance from Victoria, alright?”

What? Now Chas is defending someone else instead of her own child? Aaron doesn’t know why he’s surprised, it’s not like he’s ever been her number one priority anyway. And Robert, well that’s out of the window before it was even in. Aaron feels his blood boiling in his veins as he thinks about their exchange, the arrogance on him.

No one’s ever told Aaron what to do, and they definitely won’t start now.

Which is why when he gets a text from Vic a couple of days later, he doesn’t take Robert’s advice and ignore it. Instead, he makes extra effort to ensure he replies in the most friendly manner as is possible for him.

**From:** Vic

at the lake right now. u wanna come? promise i won’t scream this time…. :)

**To:** Vic

on my way. see u in a sec x

He didn’t mean to send the kiss at the end, since those are usually reserved for Chas, who texts him constantly to make sure he’s alright in a false pretense that she actually cares about his well-being. As much as he despises them, she sends him kisses after her texts and so he feels obliged to do the same.

When he gets to the lake, Vic’s already at the centre of the ice layer, sliding around and laughing to herself innocently, completely unaware that he’s arrived until he runs up from behind her and grabs her by the arms. She screams in fear, but when he assures her it’s only him she calms down again, albeit a little shaken up.

“You promised you weren’t gonna scream again. Bit of a lie, that was.”

She pouts at him. “You would scream an’ all if a stranger snuck up on you like that. Don’t even act like you wouldn’t.”

“Course I wouldn’t.” Aaron tells her, standing upright to make himself appear bigger. “I’m well hard.”

“Oh really?” She cocks an eyebrow, letting a smirk gradually adjust her face. He doesn’t know why she’s looking like that, until suddenly a pair of arms wrap around him, causing him to yell in surprise.

Vic and Adam burst into laughter whilst Aaron grumbles, steadying himself as he’s dropped to his feet. He pushes Adam backwards innocently as he begins to laugh with them. "You’re a prat.” He breathes, still laughing.

“Not such a hard man after all.” Adam teases. Once the three of them calm again, Adam suggests they go to the café to eat, and Aaron and Vic concurrently agree. They step off the ice and walk back into the village, strolling into the café where the heat warms Aaron up straight away, contrasting to the frost of the outdoors.

Bob hands them all coffees and they sit down, teasing Aaron again until he changes the subject. “Bumped into your brother the other day.” He aims at Vic, who’s expression seems to turn sour at the mention of him. “He hates me.”

“He hates everyone.” Adam informs him. “Rob does best alone, keeping himself to himself. He’s always been like that. Try not to wind him up, yeah?”

Upon finishing the sentence, Adam turns to the door to see the devil himself standing there, fire in his eyes as he notices Aaron with his sister. Aaron locks eyes with him and swallows. “Might be too late.”

To Aaron’s surprise, Robert doesn’t shout at him or punch him in the face. Instead his anger fades as he approaches the three of them, sitting himself on the spare sofa. “Alright?”

“Were your ears burning?” Vic asks, sipping at her coffee. “We were just talking about you.”

“Oh really?” He asks, sitting upright. “What about?”

“Aaron said you and him had a row the other day.” She says it outright, causing Aaron to panic. Does no one know what a secret is?

“Oh did he?” Robert smiles at that. Actually smiles. As if he hadn’t threatened the younger man but forty-eight hours prior to this second meeting. “It was just a misunderstanding, wasn’t it Aaron?”

Aaron knits a brow but plays along anyway for the sake of getting to the bottom of his façade. “Uh, yeah. Just a stupid row, nothing to worry about.”

“I was actually looking for you.” Rob confesses. “Diane wanted us to help her change some barrels or something.”

“Oh? Alright.” He gets up, muttering a 'see you later’ to Vic and Adam before following the blond. He’s not really paying attention and doesn’t realise they’re not going to the pub until they arrive back at the frozen lake.

Aaron blinks. “Did you forget what a pub looks like?”

“I warned you, didn’t I?” Is all he says in reply. His back’s turned away from Aaron and he’s looking out at the lake, observing it closely until he decides to move. He turns around and their eyes lock. “Go on.” He says, gesturing for Aaron to walk onto the ice.

Although disconcerted, Aaron obeys and steps onto the ice, slipping straight away and threatening to fall, but steadying himself just in time. It’s one thing having Robert act all mysterious around him like this, and it’s another to fall over and embarrass himself.

He carries on walking until he reaches the centre of the lake, and he turns around to look at Robert and ask why the hell he’s being made to do this.

But when he looks back, Robert’s gone.

Aaron huffs angrily, already exhausted with whatever these games are. He goes to walk back off the lake when he slips, falling on his ass onto the ice this time. He hisses in pain, rolling over to nurse his forthcoming bruise when the first crack makes itself known.

It forms a few metres away from him, gradually increasing in size until it cracks under his foot. He inhales sharply, attempting to shuffle away but the more he moves the bigger it becomes, following him. He looks around at the lake, and somehow it seems like patches are fading away into puddles.

Like it’s melting.

The panic begins to settle in and Aaron attempts to scramble to his feet.

Which, naturally, is when the ice breaks and he falls into the frozen water.


	3. Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron and Robert experience something strange.

He wasn’t aware of temperatures this low existing on planet earth until now.

He’s beneath the water, not floating nor sinking, too frightened to move. His whole body aches as he begins to freeze beneath the ice, meaning he can hardly bring himself to swim upwards. He’s afraid to open his eyes in fear of them freezing over too, and so he remains where he is, almost certain he’s going to die.

His head's pounding, the feeling of his blood pumping around his body more noticeable than it’s ever been before. It must be because of the intense strain he’s under, or his heart’s working the hardest it ever has done because it’s suddenly consciously aware that it’s about to stop beating.

It feels as though he’s under there for hours. He can hardly hold his breath any longer and so he attempts to mentally prepare himself for drowning when it feels as though he’s falling unconscious due to the cold anyway. The intensity of his pounding brain increases and it hurts too much to endure any longer, and so instead of fighting to stay alive, he lets himself go.

  
Which is when he’s pulled from the water and thrown onto the grass, choking up what feel like five litres of the liquid from his lungs.

The first breath of air he takes brings the most satisfying sensation in the world, and he tries to continue inhaling until his throat can’t take the strain, forcing him to exhale again. He carries on choking every so often, more water escaping from his insides and onto his shirt below his face, which is currently being cut off by someone with a pair of scissors.

There are people around him and he didn’t even notice. Their muffled voices gradually become understandable, and his eyes attempt to open a couple of millimeters, though it’s too painful.

“Aaron, can you hear me? Oh god, he’s dead isn’t he.” A girl. Vic, maybe.

“Calm down, God’s sake. He’s obviously not dead or he wouldn’t be breathing.” He recognises that voice. It’s Ross.  
  
He feels himself being lifted from the ground slightly as his shirt is peeled off him. As soon as it begins to warm him, he shivers again. Because he’s still outside and it’s still Winter, chilling him to the bone in replacement of the freezing water he was submerged in.

“We need to get him inside.” Whoever just said that is talking sense, Aaron thinks. He can’t use his senses fully yet, but his conscious mind is perfectly intact, shouting to the mysterious Samaritans to get a move on with his whole _‘saving his life’_ business.

Finally he’s moved inside, carried by two people and dropped onto a soft surface which feels a lot like a sofa. It’s not his sofa, meaning he isn’t in his lounge but someone else’s. A blanket’s wrapped around him and his eyes, although closed, begin to grow heavy.

“We need to get his trousers off.” _Excuse me?_

“You what? No way am I touching him down there. Finn, you do it. You’re the gay one.”

A scoff, presumably from Finn. “Fine. Only to stop his legs freezing to death though, not for any other reason, got that?”

Aaron laughs in his head. That’s so not true, Finn _wishes_ he had this.

He feels his trousers come off along with his pants and socks, and it suddenly occurs to him that he’s naked in front of however many people are in the room, excluding the blanket draped over him which is protecting his dignity. He feels his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment, actually proving beneficial as it increases his body temperature ever so slightly.

The sound of a door opening and footsteps from a distance then hit his ears.

“You idiot!” Vic all of a sudden screams at whoever it is. The sound of someone hitting someone else. “He almost died!”

“Stop it, Vic. Stop!” Carly shouts. The hitting sound ceases. There’s heavy breaths followed by silence. Aaron wants to open his eyes to witness this commotion but it’s still too difficult to attempt.

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?” Vic mutters shakily. Her voice sounds different, as though she’s crying. “You tried to murder him.”

Who is she talking to? _Who_ tried to murder him?

Aaron suddenly comprehends it. Robert.

“Vic, listen to me. I just wanted to see if -”

She’s still crying. “No, Robert. You took him to that lake and that’s totally unfair!”

“I told him to stay away from you and he didn’t listen. Of course I was suspicious! I didn’t want him to hurt you!” Robert fires back, worry so rich in his voice that Aaron can hear it from here. He doesn’t understand though…why would he try to _hurt_ Vic?

“Get over yourself.” She hisses. “Not everyone who comes into this village is evil. Not everyone wants to hurt us!”

“How can you be so sure of that, hm? We can’t take the risk, Victoria. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“How sweet of you.” She says sarcastically, causing an inner snort from Aaron. He takes back everything he’d said about her being weird. “Aaron’s my mate and if you tried to kill him, I will never forgive you.”

The sound of footsteps return and a door closes. A sigh. Vic must have left Robert in a state, Aaron guesses. He wants to open his eyes now. He wants to get up and shove his fist into Robert’s dumb prominent jawline.

As he plans on what he’s going to do to the older man, Aaron feels himself begin to slip away, his mind growing quieter and quieter which indicates that his plans will have to remain on standby for a while.

*

He’s not in a house at all.

The building resembles a shed or a lodge. Like a hideout. It has a sofa in it and few a chairs, a stack of blankets in the corner and a small kitchen area where steam is escaping from a kettle and making at loud noise whilst it’s at it. Aaron blinks his eyes open, adjusting to sight after a while of not using any. Every muscle in his body aches unbearably and the pounding in his head is still there, though much less agonizing than it had been in the water.

“Anyone got any painkillers?” He whines, his head falling back down onto the sofa as he rubs at his eyes. It doesn’t seem like anyone’s going to reply, but there’s a sudden sensation at his lap and he places his hand there to find a packet of paracetamol has been thrown at him.

He opens his eyes again to find himself faced with Adam, who’s placing a glass of water on the floor next to the sofa.  
  
“Thanks mate.” Aaron whispers, his voice slightly hoarse from it’s lack of use. Adam just nods in acceptance, returning to the kettle.

“We thought you were a goner for a bit.” Carly reveals from a nearby chair. She’s typing with unbelievable speed on her phone with one hand whilst taking the mug of coffee handed to her by Adam with the other, sipping at the beverage gingerly.

“Cheers for that.” Aaron mutters, sitting up again. He remembers being stripped of his soaked clothing, yet he’s wearing clothes again now. His own clothes from home, implying someone must have brought them.

Adam returns with two cups of tea and places one on the floor next to Aaron’s cup of water before placing his own on a nearby windowsill, slumping into the other seat. “How you feeling?”

“Achy.” Aaron tells him. “Imagine defrosting.”

The comment earns a laugh from the other two. Suddenly the door opens again and Vic walks in, her eyes noticeably irritated from where she’s been crying. Her expression changes in a switch when she notices Aaron’s awake, though.

“Are you alright, Aaron?” She asks, her tone filled with worry. He simply nods, assuring her of his health so that she calms down a bit.

“What’s up?” He fires back, referring to her puffy eyes.

Her face falls again. “Family arguments.” Is all she says, giving a shrug.

“I’ve had enough of them in my lifetime,” Aaron simpers, brightening her a little. “Robert?”

She nods, staring to the floor. “What happened after you left the cafe?”

Aaron thinks back to the events of…whenever it was. He realises he doesn’t actually know he long he’s been here, and he should probably find out in order to assure Chas that he’s alive. She’s probably panicking, but then again maybe not.

He still needs to text her though. Just in case.

“He just took me to the lake. Said he’d warned me about staying away from you and then told me to walk on the ice, which I did. Then I turned around and he was gone and the next thing I knew I was the human epitome of an ice cube.”

Vic furrows a brow. “So he didn’t…push you in or anything.”

Aaron shakes his head. “No, he was just gone. I don’t know where he went and I didn’t care to be honest with you.”  
  
He goes home after the interrogation, receiving several long hugs from Chas followed by multiple variations of, “Why didn’t you tell me you were going away for a bit?” moans, but mostly hugs and kisses and “I’m glad you’re alright"s. He takes a shower, feeling grateful for the heat of the water against his still-frozen skin, further defrosting him somewhat.

He wanders downstairs with just a towel wrapped around his waist, searching for his aftershave which has somehow disappeared from the bathroom, to his annoyance. He just hopes Vic or Diane aren’t down here, because that’ll be an awkward conversation at the least.

It’s not Vic or Diane he sees, but Robert.

The man is standing in the lounge looking rather lost, hands in his pockets and his head down. Aaron opens the door absent-mindedly, strolling into the room without thinking and freezing when his gaze locks with the blond's.

Play it cool, Aaron.

And he does, continuing his search for the aftershave despite feeling Robert’s eyes all over his body. It almost feels like the man’s eyeing him up, but that is the least likely thing to ever possibly happen, and so Aaron shakes off the thought. He retrieves the aftershave from the bottom of a basket on the floor, picking it up and walking back towards the door.

He stops as he reaches it, turning around slightly towards Robert but not all the way. "Did you make it up with Vic yet?”

Rob blinks, attempting to keep up his cryptic facade but giving in after a while.

Eventually he shakes his head.

Aaron bites his lip, nodding slowly. “I’ll put in a word.”

He goes to leave when he’s stopped by the older man asking him to wait a second. Surprised, Aaron turns around and stares at him, awaiting his threats.

It’s not a threat he receives, though. “Why?” Robert asks confusedly, afterwards elaborating. “Why would you help me?”

“Because I know Vic said you tried to kill me and I know it isn’t true, 'cause the ice only broke when I fell over... and I know that you wanna protect her for whatever reason, and if I cared about someone half as much as you care for her then I’d do exactly the same thing.”

“She looks at me like I’m a monster most of the time.” Robert mutters, his gaze falling to the wooden floor. “Everyone does.”

“Well, you’re the most human of all the people I've met so far, seriously.”

Robert eyes move and fix on him, and Aaron has never seen anyone show so much agony through their face as the man is right now. He looks so fragile and traumatised, and Aaron desperately wants to know _what is it causing everyone to act this way?_ Robert opens his mouth to say something but pauses, suddenly returning to his usual impassiveness in an instant and barging past Aaron, out of the room.

As their shoulders roughly brush though, both of them hiss audibly in pain at the same time. It’s a spark even colder than the temperatures he’d experienced underwater. It feels as though a chill has frozen his nerve endings and is slowly spreading down his arms, holding his body into place. He turns his head towards Robert, who, judging by his scrunched face and fallen jaw, is experiencing the same sensation.

“What was that?” Aaron whines, lifting a hand to the spot on his shoulder, pressing against it as hard as he can in order to cease the pain, though it proves unsuccessful.

Robert doesn’t reply, and when he pulls his shirt down to where his pain is, he reveals a large red mark. A break of the skin.

A burn.

The pair’s eyes simultaneously widen. What the fuck? Aaron burned him… with his _skin?_

That isn’t possible.

Before Aaron can even conjure words of curiosity to throw at the older man, Robert’s out the door, leaving nothing but a similar mark on Aaron’s shoulder, except his isn’t a burn. When Paddy, the local vet has a look at it after being pressured by Chas to do so, he laughs. He actually laughs.

And when Aaron asks why, he says it’s because that’s the oddest place to develop frostbite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TF


	4. Bodies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron goes back into the lake and makes a big discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING*** self-harm; blood; mention of dead people/bodies - please take care
> 
> i know this story is a little confusing at the minute but please please please bear with me it'll all make sense after next chapter !!!!!!!! thank you for your patience i am so grateful i just want this story to be prolonged because i felt like my other chaptered fics went way too quickly so i want this to be a proper story.
> 
> i love u all thank u for reading!!

Frostbite. Second degree frostbite, to be precise.

He's frantically searched through Google for over nine hours within the past couple of days, going through every biological, chemical and physical explanation in his mind, but nothing’s making sense. There’s no way Robert and Aaron could’ve burned each other unless their skin was of extremely high temperatures…like Robert’s below zero and Aaron’s above sixty.

A sharp pain in his shoulder distracts him and he hisses as he rides it out, pulling his pyjama shirt down to observe the bright red blisters which have now formed and are proving to be incredibly painful. Wikipedia had told him it won’t heal for at least a month and the area may remain permanently insensitive to heat or cold.

Great.

He decides that staying in bed for the entirety of the month probably won’t do him any favours, so he calls up Adam and asks him if he wants to head to the lake to get his mind off things.

Adam’s response is, “Mate, you haven’t heard?”

“Heard what?”

There's a pause. "The lake’s been melting.”

Aaron’s jaw falls slightly. “What? I thought it’d been frozen for like, twenty years?”

Adam exhales audibly from the other end of the phone. “Yeah…it has.”

“What’s brought that on then?”

“You tell me, lad.” Adam whispers. “It started after you fell in. What’s that about?”

Aaron knits a brow. How would he melt the lake? “I don’t know…I -”

“Look,” Adam cuts him off. “Stay at home, yeah? Me and Vic’ll come over and see you later on.”

The phone buzzes to signal the end of the conversation and Aaron’s left miffed at the idea that everyone is convinced he deliberately melted the lake.

1\. That would be the worst banter ever thought of by anyone.  
2\. If it’s cold enough outside it wouldn’t be melting in the first place, meaning the village is clearly warming up anyway.

People will look for anyone to blame, Aaron tries to tell himself. He’s admittedly raging at the idea of being thought of as responsible, but the more he stresses out, the more painful his frostbite seems to become and so he forces himself to calm down.

When he wanders downstairs, his curiosity gets the better of him as he hears muffled voices in the direction of the lounge where the door is slightly open. He presses his ear to the gap, listening in on the conversation.

It’s Vic and Adam.

“You really think he’s doing it?”

“I don’t wanna believe it but it must be, Adam. Why else would Robert run off without saying anything to me?”

Aaron's chest lurches at the mention of his name.

Adam watches her sadly. “Are you sure it isn’t ‘cause of your argument?”

Vic shakes her head. “No, we sorted that. But I think he might’ve seen Aaron and now he’s gone missing. Maybe he found something out.”

“You think he found out Aarons one of them? He’s found out where the rest of them are and now they wanna get their bodies out?”

“As much as I care about Aaron, I think it’s a strong possibility.”

Aaron backs away from the door then, his hand clasped to his mouth in complete and utter shock. Bodies? What? Nothing the pair said seems to make sense. There are pieces missing here and there, but it sounds a lot like they’re hiding bodies somewhere. And they think Aaron knows where that somewhere is.

A thought suddenly clicks into his mind and everything becomes ever so slightly clearer.

The lake.

As the realisation hits, Aaron flies out the door in the direction of the lake without bothering to make himself quiet about it. So when Vic and Adam’s voices can be heard behind him, calling out his name, he’s already ten paces ahead. They can try to stop him all they want, but he needs answers and he’s sure he’ll find them at the bottom of that un-freezing lake.

He understands the commotion when he reaches it. The ice layer is noticeably thinner but still present, excluding the hole where Aaron had fallen through a couple of days ago. He runs onto the ice without any hesitation, his feet travelling towards the hole. He’s not in the frame of mind to consider what he’s doing right now, meaning he’s about to go straight for it.

As he’s throwing his clothes off and onto the floor next to him, Vic and Adam arrive at the body of ice, pausing at the edge with fear on their faces only confirming that there’s something awfully suspicious down there.

“Aaron, come back!” Vic screams, shakiness in her voice. “Please don’t go in there.”

Aaron turns his head towards them, his body edging closer to the hole. Water occasionally splashes over onto his bare feet, causing them to shiver at the temperature. He knows he’s risking death once again for this, but oh well. Curiosity killed the cat. And Aaron, possibly.

“What’s in there? What is it?” He shouts back, still staring at them, awaiting honesty.

“Are you sure you don’t already know?” Adam throws at him. Aaron scoffs, shaking his head at the question and at the man’s audacity to accuse him. Some friend.

“No, I don’t.” He replies, just to clarify. “But it looks like I’m about to find out.”

Ignoring their screams begging him not to, he plunges through the hole into the water, feeling that familiar chill straight away.

He won’t pussy out this time though and so he forces his eyes open, searching the lake for whatever it is that’s hiding. It isn’t that deep, so he can see the bottom clearly but nothing seems to be there.

Until he turns the other way.

They’re everywhere, floating eerily within the silence of the war, their eyes open, insides cut out. It’s like they’re staring at him, begging for him to save them but obviously they aren’t because they’re all dead. Corpses.

If he wasn’t holding his breath he’s sure he’d throw up at the sight of them. There are so many, all with identical injuries which can be clearly identified from where Aaron’s floating. The one closest to him is a young girl. Blonde, beautiful eyes although they’re now glass, empty and transparent.

His lungs scream at him for oxygen and so he swims to the surface of the hole, warm tears contrasting to the frozen drops of water against his eyes.

He pulls himself above the water and inhales deeply in order to fulfill the demands of his airways. He pulls his body onto the ice layer, remembering the corpses and pausing once he’s out. He just lays, ignoring whatever Vic and Adam are screaming at him and just letting himself cry. It’s more than a cry, it’s a loud, ugly sob, forcing its way out of his exhausted lungs. It’s just him and the bodies, above and below the ice in synchronic numbness.

Once he grows too tired to block it out, he lets them be heard.

“Aaron? Please don’t cry, just talk to us. We can explain.” Adam tries. Aaron would scoff if it wasn’t too much effort.

“What can you possibly say to explain this?” He croaks.

“Any questions, we’ll answer them. We owe you that at least. Come on, mate.” Adam says softly as he pulls Aaron up by the arm, except he grabs him where his frostbite is already throbbing profoundly.

Aaron yells in agony, jerking his arm from Adam’s grip and falling back onto the ice causing his friend to gasp worriedly. “Aaron?”

“I’m fine,” He lies, letting them pull him up again, successfully this time. They help him over to the grass and walk him into the lodge, guiding him to the sofa were they sit him down.

Vic kneels in front of him and observes the area where he’d shown discomfort. “What’s happened to you?”

“It’s nothing -” It’s no use. She pulls his shirt down to reveal the frostbite, immediately taken aback as she examines the mark, slowly tracing her fingers across it and earning a whimper from Aaron.

She blinks her eyes up at him. “How did you get this?” She says it with a neutral tone as if she already knows and only wants him to confirm it.

He swallows hard. “You won’t believe me if I tell you.”

She cocks an eyebrow. “Try me.”

“Me and Robert…we brushed arms. Then I got this and he got a burn.”

Her jaw falls open and her eyebrows drop down into a furrow. He huffs at the expression, turning away in humiliation. “Knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

She looks at him and smiles, covering her previous anxiety. “I do believe you.” She whispers, her hand falling to his knee and stroking it with her thumb before she stands up again, making her way over to Adam and whispering something in his ear which makes him drop the cups he was previously holding, producing a crash on the table as they hit it.

They tell Aaron they’ll be back in a bit to answer his questions and then they leave him in the lodge by himself, bored out of his wits and freezing cold since he’s still sitting in his underwear. He pulls his clothes back on before walking over to the corner of the room and picking up one of the blankets. He throws it around his body in order to warm himself, and as he observes little details within the room, he notices a door which has been hidden by picture frames and posters, only the handle exposed to his sight.

Aaron being Aaron, he turns the handle and opens the door, revealing a set of stairs leading downwards into a basement-like area. He slowly steps down the stairs and notices a glow coming from the bottom, like a light is on.

Which indicates someone’s home. He continues down the steps, controlling his breaths so they’re slow and quiet, hoping whoever’s in there won’t hear him.

Once he reaches the bottom, it’s confirmed that there is someone there, the glow from the lampshade exaggerating his fairness.

Robert’s sitting against the wall with his elbows resting on his knees. One of his arms is outstretched facing up whilst the other is leaning on it. A razor blade sits against his fingertips.

When he notices Aaron, he hardly reacts.

“Come to kill me?” He mutters in a bored tone. His eyes don’t bother to look up and see who it is, yet he knows already. Aaron huffs out a laugh as he throws his blanket to one side, replying, “Attempted murder’s more your thing, mate.”

Robert doesn’t look at him until he says, “Do you wanna see something fascinating?”

Albeit slightly anxious, Aaron nods anyway. He slowly steps forward and sits down next to the older man, leaning against the wall so he can get a proper view.

He probably should’ve expected this, though he flies back in horror when Robert pulls the blade over his skin, fast and forceful.

Aaron _can’t stand_ the sight of blood, so he instinctively covers his face in order to avoid staring at the spurting liquid from Robert’s arm. When Robert urges him to look, he refuses. “You’re insane.”

“Just look. Please.” Robert pushes again in a softer voice, and so Aaron musters as much courage as he can before pulling his own hand away, squinting an eye open slightly.

When he sees it, both eyes fly open all the way because he needs to find out if he’s seeing this right.

There isn't any blood.

There’s a deep cut, yet there’s no blood. None at all.

“Surprise.” The blond says innocently, grinning widely at the haunted expression on Aaron’s face.

Something kicks in within his body. An urge to examine it further. And so Aaron touches his arm. He flinches at first, both of them afraid of injuring each other as they did the last time their skin came into contact, but that doesn’t happen again.

What does happen though, is the blood begins to rush.

Aaron releases his grip instantly, shutting his eyes tightly in order to block it out. Some of it drips onto his hands and so he wipes it on his shirt. _He hates blood he hates blood he hates blood._

He notices Robert’s gone quiet again and so he re-opens his eyes to see that the blood has vanished. It’s stopped. Just the cut, his open skin, but no blood. Aaron looks away, refusing to stare this time, utterly perplexed on how this could be possible.

His eyes eventually flick back over to Robert's face and the older man is boring into him with pure awe, as if Aaron’s a magnificent creature with tricks as unique as the one he’d just shown. He tilts his head and his eyebrows twitch with intrigue. “Touch me again,” he whispers almost inaudibly.

The blood flows freely as if it’d been there the whole time, perfectly humane and spilling out onto the ground. As Robert watches it pour he stares with so much fascination, as though he’s never witnessed the human norm before.

Which raises the same question: what the fuck is wrong with him?

When Aaron lets go, Robert turns back to him. His eyes are bright and child-like, though he’s not smiling. “What are you?”

“I was about to ask you that.” Aaron admits, the corners of his mouth turning up into a small smile despite his inner fear.

Robert leans forward, his face merely inches apart from Aaron’s. He blinks up at him, his eyes moving in small, flickering motions like he’s scanning. Searching. He says in a hushed voice, “You burned me and my skin turned red. My skin can’t turn red.”

Aaron furrows a brow, his own gaze falling to the older man’s shoulder in the exact spot where his injury is. “Why can’t it?” He murmurs.

“Because,” Rob continues, “There's no blood to rush there.”

“What? Why?” Aaron continues to press, though the blond’s breathing is becoming heavier, his jaw pulsating as he grows erratic.

Robert flies up into a standing position, the razor in his hand pointing directly at Aaron now. Aaron slowly holds his hands above his head in order to convince the man of his innocence though it only causes him to shake even more.

“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” He growls, pushing the razor forward in a threatening gesture. Aaron swallows, his head shaking.

“No - I’m not. I don’t know who you’re talking about but I know Vic thinks the same. I’m not one of them.”

Robert gasps in sheer panic and a tear drips onto his cheek. “You are. You are.” He whines, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“I see you every night.” He continues. “Only your face.”

"What are you on about?” Aaron whispers the question, his eyes never leaving Robert’s face.

“A nightmare. A re-enactment. I relive it every night.” He answers in the same, tortured whisper. He’s terrified, like he’s having a nightmare right now. “They used to be blurry, the faces. They’re clearer now but still unfocused. Yours is the only clear one. They’re all after me.”

Aaron registers. "The people in the lake.”

Robert’s eyes shoot open. “You know.” He breathes.

“I saw them. Today.” Aaron admits. “I heard Adam and Vic saying I could be one…I had to see what I was one of.”

The blond says nothing after that but visibly softens. The razor’s still pointed in Aaron’s direction though, meaning he can’t get up and leave and purge himself of this neurotic experience.

Aaron’s reluctant to ask the question but he has to do it. “Did you kill them all?”

Robert stares at him tiredly, “ _We_ killed them all.” He corrects. “Before they could kill us.”

“Why would they kill you?”

“Experimentation.” He’s told. “They created something they didn't mean to and now they want to see what we are.”

Aaron’s eyes widen then, because Robert’s choice of wording means he’s given something away. “We? You’re all like that with the blood thing? Vic, Adam, Carly…Ross and Finn? What is it, a disease?”

Rob opens his mouth to explain, but there’s a blockage which prevents him from spilling. He clamps his mouth shut again, refusing. “I don’t trust you.” He growls, “But Vic will know whether to or not…ask her. She’ll either tell you or you’ll end up in the lake with all your little mates. It’s your choice whether or not you want to inquire, Aaron.”

Robert lowers his hand with the razor which indicates that it’s Aaron’s cue to leave. He does so, rushing up the stairs and back into the centre of the lodge where everyone seems to be waiting. All of them.

His arrival sparks their attention and as soon as he’s seen he’s pinned up against the wall by Ross and Pete, unable to escape.

Vic approaches him, her eyes wide and fearful, though something about her seems strong, powerful. She seems to be leading the rest of them. “Aaron, where’ve you been?” Her voice is soft in comparison.

“Downstairs.” He tells her.

“Why?”

Aaron sighs. “Had a chat with your big bro.”

She takes action in milliseconds, her head shooting in Adam’s direction. “Robert’s down there, go and check on him. Now!” She shouts.

“I didn’t hurt him.” He tells her, knowing that’s exactly what she’s afraid of. “He said I should ask you what’s wrong with all of you. He gave away that it was something, he showed me. But he said to ask you.”

“He trusts you to know?” She asks, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. Aaron doesn’t completely understand why but bites his tongue before he asks.

“No. He said you’d be a better judge, though judging by the way you were talking about me at the pub, I’m guessing I already know that answer.”

Just as he’s trying to console himself on the fact he’s about to be drowned in a lake with other dead bodies already inside, Vic gives a look to Ross and Pete and they release him from the wall. He nurses his arms where he’d been tightly gripped whilst shooting a look at her, urging her to put him out of his misery.

“If you were untrustworthy you’d have gone straight to the police when we left or you would’ve killed Robert. But you didn’t. And there’s something about you, Aaron. You’re Diane’s best mate’s son and you’re my friend. I trust you. And I promised to tell you everything beforehand, so I’ll keep my word.” 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> what the fuck is up with this village guys


End file.
